. created and directed by .
richard maltby jr

. conceived by .
william meade

. co-starring .
. beth malone . jarrod emick .
. lari white . jeb brown .
. cass morgan . jason edwards .

. dates .
. opening night . 12 march 2006
. closed . 30 april 2006

. theatre .
ethel barrymore theatre
247 west 47th st

. music . gallery .
. official site .

(L-R) . cass morgan . jason edwards . beth malone .
jarrod emick . lari white . jeb brown .

. show .

In Beth's own words: "If you go in expecting it to be a revue, you are going to get more... But if you go in expecting it to be a play, you're going to be disappointed. If you go in there thinking, 'I'm going to hear the best musicians in the world delivering Johnny Cash music', then you are going to get more!" [source]

Taking to the Broadway stage shortly after Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line swept the Oscars, there were high hopes for Ring Of Fire - unfortunately, the show failed to connect with either critics or audiences. It wasn't the cast or the craftmanship they brought to Cash's music that were the problem, but the fact that musical lacked a strong storyline that could hit the emotional high notes the producers were hoping for. Ring Of Fire closed on Broadway six weeks after it opened.

. production history .

Beth originated her role (later described as June Carter Cash, but really one of six leads intended to represent different points in Cash's musical journey) in an off-Broadway tryout at Studio Arena in Buffalo from September to October 2005. The show subsequently had another tryout at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in January 2006.

Ring Of Fire began previews on 8 February 2006 (38 performances), opened on 12 March 2006, and played 57 regular performances before it closed on 30 April 2006. The show is currently on tour throughout the country, with some revisions reportedly being made to its book.

. reviews .

. new york times . variety . curtainup . talkin' broadway .

. media .

The cast of Ring Of Fire on The Today Show

. trivia .

• Beth was cast concurrently in Ring Of Fire and Bingo - which probably brought her a lot of frequent flyer miles. With Ring Of Fire still in its out-of-town tryouts in Buffalo, Beth flew back and forth between New York and Buffalo, "rehearsing Bingo while doing Ring of Fire at night". [source]
• Beth played her final performance in Bingo on her birthday in early January 2006, before she left to begin rehearsals for her Broadway debut. [source]
• Fellow UC Irvine alumnus Jenn Colella played a part in Beth being cast in Ring Of Fire: Jenn told the show's producer about Beth at the same time as the casting director did. [source]
• Beth owes her Broadway debut to an impromptu karaoke performance - her boozed-up rendition of River Deep, Mountain High at a Halloween party was so memorable that it stuck deeply with one of Ring Of Fire's producers for years, until an LA audition and a subsequent New York call were set up. [source]